Niger Went on a Killing Spree

[rtoycrow]

I have had him for about 8 months. He is about 5 inches long and has gotten along with all my tank mates until yesterday. He killed both my blue-green chromis and injured my baby clown pretty badly. I doubt he is gonna make it. I thought that the niger was one of the more peaceful triggers. Anybody elses Niger done this before?

 

[lsu]

"more peaceful trigger", keyword being trigger. I personally think they all pose a risk of "going psycho".

 

[grabbitt]

Originally Posted by LSU
http:///forum/post/2604891
"more peaceful trigger", keyword being trigger. I personally think they all pose a risk of "going psycho".
Agreed. I have read several threads throughout the past about their random psychotic killing sprees. So pretty, but so bipolar

 

[nycbob]

sorry for ur lost. how big of a tank do u hv it in?

 

[mr.clownfish]

ur title is a little racist lol im just kidding!
that happened to me in my 40 gal my stupid LFS didn't tell me that a 40 gal is too small so i bought him in a week he killed my valintini puffer and one of my domino damsels.

 

[rtoycrow]

Its in a 125 gallon fowlr

 

[dragonzim]

Sorry for your loss, but welcome to the wonderful world of Trigger keeping, where its not a matter of IF they snap, but WHEN they snap!

 

[prime311]

The easy answer is a trigger is a trigger, but I'll see if theres something you can do to help. What is your feeding schedule, what do you feed, and do you have any pictures of your tank setup? Hunger, feeding live food, and/or a tank without plenty of good hiding spots will make a trigger more aggressive.

 

[kjr_trig]

Sorry to hear as well....I hate to say it, but there are far too many people recommending this fish on this site. People buy them small and they are great for a year or maybe 2. I keep seeing "I have a Niger, they are definately reef-safe and great community fish, I have had mine for a year".....I am still waiting for "I have had mine for 5 years, he is 12 inches long and never bothers my Percula Clown and other small fish in my reef"...but that won't happen.
Niger Triggers are semi-peaceful as juvis, they are triggers as adults, they should be left to the larger "Aggressive Tanks". I love them, I am on my second Redtooth right now in my new tank.
Bluethroat, Crosshatch, and Sargassum are the most reef safe/community fish, and even they can be iffy.
One more...Bob Fenner puts the Redtooth (aka Niger) in the "possible trouble makers" section for triggers alongside Clown, Queen, Undy and Bursa.
I am certainly not flaming you chewtoy, you are not the only one that has made this mistake.....IMO people need to stop recommending this as a "community fish", because it is not.

 

[srfisher17]

IMO, it would be the exception to the rule if a 5" Niger did NOT do this sooner or later.Thats what triggers do; they ALL are aggressive carnivores that often feed by attacking the gut area of another fish, or just keep biting them into submission.A 5" niger doesn't even belong in the room, much less the same tank, with a baby clown. Once again, I agree with kjr_trig. A peaceful trigger is not necessarily a peaceful fish and, yes, they are being recommended far too often as community fish. (along with Humas). I'll bet I've said this 100 times on this forum; but ANY trigger can go postal, even after years, and attack anything & everything. Than cute little 2" baby Huma at the lfs is fully capable (and willing) of killing a fish several times its size--through attacks or just stress. I've seen several threads on this site from folks asking for trigger advice, then discovering the hard way, that people knew what they were talking about. I know what thats like; when I want a fish, I look for reasons why it will work and am less likely to listen to reasons why it won't. Please don't take this harshly, just learn from the experience. The tropical reef is a very dangerous and complex environment; in addition to being unbelievably beautiful.